The Department of Microbiology and Immunology is pleased to announce that Sean Gregory, a graduate student in Blossom Damania’s lab, is the 2011 G. Philip Manire Graduate Student Excellence in Research Award recipient. Sean has shown outstanding scientific accomplishments through his studies of a mechanism of KSHV latency reactivation and a strategy for viral inhibition … Read more

In the search for potential vaccine targets for Yersina pestis (the organism that causes the bubonic or pneumonic plague), Dr. Eric Weening and collaborators from the Virginia Miller lab have demonstrated that differences in the mouse genetic background can influence pathogenicity and virulence…

The world of microbiology has undergone a paradigm shift regarding our view of our relationship with the microbes that live in and on us, now termed “the human biome…”

When Cary first attended Mississippi State University for her undergraduate degree, she planned on going to medical school; but after taking a microbiology class, she decided microbiology was vastly more interesting. She then went on to get her masters studying the bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV) with Dr. Karen St. Cyrcoats in the Department of Microbiology at MSU…

Recent data published in the journal Science by Sean Gregory (graduate student in the Blossom Damania Lab), along with collaborators from the Jenny Ting Lab have identified a viral protein that masquerades as a normal cellular protein important in stopping viral infections…

Dr. Nancy Fisher was recently named as the new Director of the Flow Facility Core. The Flow Facility Core was one of the first of its kind in the country, and was founded in the laboratory of Geoffrey Haughton (UNC Chapel Hill, Microbiology and Immunology) while Nancy was a graduate student there…

Nat is originally from Springfield, IL, and received his B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Nat then moved to St Louis, MO where he worked in the laboratory of Dr. David Leib studying herpes simplex virus pathogenesis…

Mutation in the BCRA2 gene has been identified as a genetic marker that indicates a predisposition for the development of breast cancer. Understanding how this tumor suppressor protein functions is vital in understanding disease progression…

Congratulations to Monika Schneider! Monika (from Dr. Jenny Ting’s lab) was chosen from a large pool of UNC graduate student applicants from across all aspects of research to receive a Graduate Education Advancement Board (GEAB) Impact Award…

Phil Manire was a friend and mentor to many people in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, serving as Chair from 1966 to 1979. The Manire years were marked by a major growth in faculty and international recognition for molecular biology, microbiology, and immunology research at UNC. However, Phil’s most lasting professional contribution was his nurturing leadership style that cemented a spirit of collegiality and family among a department of very diverse interests and personalities. Twenty-one years after his retirement, Phil died in his sleep on November 4, 2010…